


Shine

by littlelouishiccups



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Coming Out, F/F, First Time, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Girl Direction, Oral Sex, Roommates, Vaginal Fingering, a little bit of mutual pining, as my beta said to me: welcome to the new age
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 19:22:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21020966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlelouishiccups/pseuds/littlelouishiccups
Summary: Harry’s had a crush on Louis since the moment she realized she liked girls.





	Shine

**Author's Note:**

> hello and welcome to my girl direction debut

Harry’s had a crush on Louis since the moment she realized she liked girls. In fact, Harry’s crush on Louis is more or less how she realized she liked girls in the first place. She was one of the first people to know Harry liked girls, along with Gemma, who Harry told when they were both home over fall break during Harry’s first year of college, stomach in knots and heart in her throat. Of course, Gemma didn’t care, just looked Harry right in the eye and said  _ I know _ with a smile on her face. Then she asked Harry if she liked a certain girl in particular, and Harry told her about Louis.

She met Louis during move-in weekend. It was Sunday night. Most everyone’s parents had finally left town and Harry was alone with her new roommate, Niall, for the first time. Harry liked Niall. She was a music major, like Harry, and she was nice and bubbly, with bleached blonde hair and a loud laugh. She apologized thirty seconds into their meeting when she warned Harry that she had OCD and would probably be really annoying about keeping the room clean and organized, but Harry didn’t mind. She was pretty tidy herself.  


Niall suggested leaving their door open so they could meet the other girls in their hall as they came and went, which is exactly how they met Louis and Zayn. Harry was texting with Liam, one of the few people she knew from home, to see if she wanted to grab dinner together, when a girl knocked on the doorframe to Harry and Niall’s room. She was short and fit, wearing athletic shorts that showed off her tanned, toned, perfect legs and a t-shirt. Her brown hair barely hit her shoulders and the cut was layered and choppy. She had her bangs pushed out of her face with a cloth headband, showing her pretty, make-up free face.  


“Hey!” she said brightly, the light rasp in her voice causing something that Harry ignored to curl deep in her belly. “I’m Louis. I’m a few doors down.”

Niall immediately hopped up from where she was organizing her desk to give Louis a hug and introduced herself. She introduced Harry as well, and Harry waved shyly from her bed.  


Louis smiled at Harry and looked between the two of them. “Me and my roommate are about to walk down to the dining hall. Thought we’d see if anyone wants to join us? You guys were the only ones with their door open.”  


Niall turned to Harry to see what she wanted to do and Harry shrugged. Liam hadn’t texted her back yet, so she figured she should try to make new friends and take Louis up on her offer. She shot a quick text to Liam, letting her know she could join them in the dining hall if she wanted, and slipped on her shoes to follow Louis and Niall out the door.   


“This is Zayn,” Louis said, gesturing to her roommate, who’d been lingering in the hallway. She was unfairly gorgeous, with long black hair, amazing eyebrows, and about a hundred ear piercings.  


Harry and Niall introduced themselves, and then the four of them started on their trek to the dining hall.  


“So did you two already know each other?” Louis asked Harry and Niall as they waited for the elevator. “Or did you get placed together?”

“Just met this weekend,” Niall said. “My mom is still best friends with her college pot-luck roommate so I figured I’d give it a chance myself. I guess Harry seems alright so far.”

“Heyyy,” Harry teased, knocking Niall’s shoulder with her own. “I’m going to be the best roommate you’ve ever had.”

Niall laughed. “What about you two?” she asked Louis and Zayn.

“Known each other since middle school,” Louis said, wrapping an arm around Zayn’s shoulders.  


“I can’t get rid of her,” Zayn said flatly, which made Louis roll her eyes dramatically. Harry giggled.  


They continued to make small talk on their walk halfway across campus to the one dining hall that was open on the weekends, and Harry learned that Louis was on a soccer scholarship and Zayn planned to study art.  


Liam did end up meeting them in the dining hall, and the five of them had dinner together almost every night that week. They became fast friends and Harry felt drawn to Louis in a way she’d never felt drawn to any of her other friends before. She lived to make Louis laugh and giddily looked forward to when the two of them met up for lunch between their classes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. She admired the way Louis was so unapologetically herself, how she came out to the group after a few days and narrowed her eyes at them, as if daring anyone to give her any shit for her sexuality. She admired how passionate Louis was about her interests and how opinionated she was about almost everything.  


About a month into the semester, Zayn knocked on Harry and Niall’s door to see if she could crash with them because Louis had taken a girl back to their room. A nasty spark of jealousy shot up Harry’s spine and her brain short circuited when she realized what that meant. She didn’t just want Louis to be her best friend, she liked her more than that, and what the fuck did that even mean?  


She spent the next few weeks trying to figure it out and the more she thought about it and stressed over it, the more convinced she became that she was not even a little bit straight. She never had been. She was way too obsessed with flipping through the pages of her mother’s Shania Twain albums growing up, and she was always very interested and invested in celebrities when they came out of the closet. More invested than her friends.  


The excuses she made for never having a boyfriend, always claiming to be too picky when it came to men, now made her cringe. And she realized she’d definitely had crushes on girls before, she just didn’t see them for what they were until now. The discovery was exciting and scary all at once and she wanted to talk to someone about it. She knew that person would be Louis.  


Harry finally got the courage to talk to Louis in the library one night, where they were both trying and failing to study for their midterms. The sun had gone down outside even though it was barely past dinner time and the floor was full of other students cramming for their own exams.

“Hey Louis?” Harry asked when she couldn’t concentrate on her studies anymore, her whole body thrumming with anxiety about the discussion ahead.  


“Yeah?” Louis glanced up distractedly from her laptop. She looked unfairly attractive, with her short hair falling out of it’s stubby ponytail and the glasses she rarely wore perched on her nose.  


“Can I ask you a personal question?” Harry quietly tapped her highlighter against her notebook, aware she was fidgeting but unable to stop.  


Louis tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and shrugged. “Sure? What’s up?”

“When did you-” Harry took a deep breath and cleared her throat, set her highlighter down and crossed her arms over her chest. “How did you know you liked girls?”

Louis blinked and cleared her own throat. She ran her eyes over Harry’s face as if searching for something, before she sat back in her seat and shrugged. “I don’t know, really. I think I always knew.”

Harry considered that, wondering if it was weird that she didn’t know until recently. Maybe she was supposed to have known all along. Maybe she was just confused, or was simply a fraud altogether.  


“But did anything ever happen to make you realize?”

Louis huffed out a soft laugh. “Yeah. It’s kind of stupid though.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want,” Harry assured her. The last thing she wanted to do was end up embarrassing Louis or something.

“Nah,” Louis shifted in her seat. “Doesn’t really matter. I was at some stupid party when I was like twelve or thirteen and we played spin the bottle.” She shrugged and fiddled with the cover of her text book. “Just realized I wanted to kiss the girls more than the boys. Was always hoping the bottle would land on a girl and I knew that wasn’t what the other girls were hoping for.”

Harry wondered how things would have been different if she’d met Louis sooner. If she’d been one of those girls at a middle school party who got to kiss Louis Tomlinson.

She swallowed. “Were you scared? When you realized, I mean?”

“For a little bit,” Louis nodded. “I don’t know. I wasn’t really scared to tell my mom. Maybe a little nervous, but I knew she would be okay with it, but I was scared to tell my friends. I didn’t want them to think I secretly liked them all along or anything. And with soccer, I always made sure I didn’t look at anyone in the locker room too long, so they didn’t think I was being creepy or something. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t come out in high school except to Zayn and a couple of our friends. I didn’t want my teammates to be weird around me. I still don’t.”

Harry understood that. Some of the same thoughts had crossed her mind the past couple of weeks. What if Niall didn’t want a gay roommate? What if the other girls in choir didn’t want to practice together anymore? What if her parents surprised her and weren’t okay with it? What if they disowned her? What if, what if, what if?

“Well, I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to tell me and the girls,” she told Louis, at a loss to say anything else.  


Louis sat up straight. “I promised myself when I graduated high school that I wouldn’t make friends with people I’d be scared to come out to in college. Figured I should know if any of you had a problem with it early on. Less drama.”

“That makes sense.”

Louis nodded and shifted in her seat again. Harry took a deep breath, her heart threatening to escape her chest.

“I think I might too,” she said. “You know, like girls.”

Louis smiled. “That’s cool. It’d be dope to not be the only queer in the group.” Harry laughed and ducked her head, relief flooding her body so quickly she thought she might get a headrush. It felt so good to say it to someone who understood maybe a bit of what she was going through.  


“Not that you have to tell anyone else,” Louis continued. “Your secret’s safe with me until you decide to share it.”

“Thanks, Lou,” Harry said. “Are you surprised?”

Louis tilted her head. “Not really, no. I kind of thought, maybe? But also, I think everyone is gay, so.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Louis bit her lip. “Well, no. Usually only people who actually do turn out to be gay.”

Harry snorted and Louis giggled and then they both started laughing, causing several people to look over at them in annoyance. Harry couldn’t help it. In a way, it was comforting that Louis wasn’t surprised to learn about Harry, that she’d maybe even already suspected. Harry felt so relieved about how well this conversation was going and Louis looked so pretty when she laughed.  


“Really though,” Louis said when they finally calmed down, reaching across the table to give Harry’s hand a squeeze. “Thanks for telling me. It’s cool you trust me with that.”

That conversation was almost two years ago, and now Harry was out to pretty much everyone, but she’d yet to ever really date. She made out with a girl at a party once, and exchanged numbers with a girl she met at Pride the year before, but never really pursued her beyond a few dates. Everyone expected her to go out every weekend and explore her sexuality after she came out, but she didn’t really have any desire to do that. Plus, she was still crushing on Louis, and if anything that crush only continued to get worse and worse. Especially knowing that Louis considered Harry her best friend. Harry considered Louis her best friend too, and she felt terrible about always wanting more.

She, Louis, Niall, and Liam had moved out of the dorms and into a shared apartment for their junior year. When the idea was proposed, Harry was positive it was going to end in disaster. Louis was too messy for Niall and she and Liam weren’t all that close, but Louis insisted she needed new roommates after Zayn decided to take a semester off and moved back home to pursue art and save some money.  


Living with Louis was definitely a disaster, just not in the ways Harry had anticipated. It was disastrous because she looked extra cute in the morning, when she was bundled up in a hoodie and her hair was still messy. It was disastrous because she occasionally brought girls home and Harry was often sliding her noise cancelling headphones over her ears so she didn’t have to hear what Louis was doing to the girl in the room next to hers.  


It was disastrous because Louis walked around in a towel after she showered, and took off her bra the minute she stepped through the door. Harry very rarely wore a bra, so she probably didn’t have the right to feel any type of way about that, but unlike Harry, Louis practically lived in tank tops with giant gaping arm holes. If Harry saw any more of her sideboob she was going to scream. 

Most of all, it was disastrous because Harry was too cowardly to do anything about her crush and was doomed to live in the misery of her own making forever.  


“What are you moping about?” Niall asked as she poured herself a glass of water from the Brita filter in the kitchen. It was an early Saturday afternoon and Harry was sitting at the kitchen table, sheet music spread out in front of her, pitch pipe in her hand.  


“I’m not moping,” Harry said, running a hand down her face.

“She’s been moping all day,” Liam interjected helpfully from the couch, where she was watching Cupcake Wars with the sound muted and pretending to study.  


Harry glared at her. “You’ve only been awake for an hour. How would you know?”

They all glanced at the front door when they heard a key turning in the lock, and seconds later Louis pushed her way through the door, wearing yesterday’s clothes with hair sticking up in the back.

“I think you need to get laid,” Niall turned back to Harry.

“Who needs to get laid?” Louis asked, toeing off her shoes and kicking them into the pile by the door.  


“Harry’s moping,” Liam said.  


“I’m not moping,” Harry argued again. “I’m just tired. Someone make me some coffee and all of you shut up.”

“Okay grumpy,” Niall rolled her eyes and pulled the coffee grounds out of the pantry.  


“Make enough for me,” Louis ordered, coming to sit at the table next to Harry. Up close, Harry could see a bit of mascara smudged under her eyes and a reddened mark on her neck. She wanted to throw up. This was why she’d been moping. Because she knew Louis hadn’t made it home last night and she was feeling sorry for herself.  


“Jesus fucking-” Niall trailed off. “I’m not your servant. Liam, would your highness also enjoy some coffee?”

“Yes, please,” Liam said cheerfully, turning back to her show. Niall continued to mutter to herself as she started the coffee pot and prepared a sandwich for herself.

“Hey, babes,” Louis said softly to Harry, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. “What’s up? You stressed about your audition?”

Harry was auditioning for one of the solos at the Christmas choir concert and she was nervous about it, mostly because she wanted it so badly. But that wasn’t what had her stomach in knots today.  


She shrugged. “A little bit.”

“You’re gonna do great,” Louis squeezed her shoulder and pulled her hand back. “You’ve been practicing like crazy.”

“You know what’s great for stress relief?” Niall asked, coming to sit down with them when the coffee machine started to sputter. “Sex.”

“Oh, my God,” Harry groaned and hid her face in her hands. “Leave me alone.”

Louis laughed and learned back in her chair, lacing her fingers together and resting the back of her head in the basket of her hands. “She has a point. Nothing like a good orgasm to make you feel better.”

“I can get that from my vibrator,” Harry mumbled, pointedly turning back to her music.  


Niall clucked her tongue. “That’s sad, H.”

“Alright, leave her alone,” Louis said and Harry stood up. She was grateful that Louis was defending her, but she was also over this conversation.

There was just enough coffee in the pot to pour herself a small cup, so she did so, ignoring Liam when she complained about how she was supposed to wait for the pot to finish brewing and how Harry had to be the one to clean the bottom of the pot now.

Harry poured a bit of cream into the mug, gave it a quick stir, and then escaped to her room. She wasn’t alone more than a minute before Louis tapped on the door and joined her, throwing herself down onto Harry’s bed and placing her head in Harry’s lap. Harry’s breath caught in her throat.

“Tell me to fuck off if you don’t want to have this discussion,” Louis started. “But are you nervous about sex? Because we can talk about it, if you want.”

“What?” Harry choked. She was  _ not _ going to talk to Louis about sex. She might be slightly masochistic but she didn’t hate herself that much.  


Louis shrugged, the movement jostling her position in Harry’s lap. Harry both wanted her space and also for Louis to stay there forever. “I just wondered if you might be nervous to put yourself out there. Thought I could help you out, maybe answer any questions you might have.”

“I’m not nervous to put myself out there,” Harry said, glancing up at the ceiling and wishing a meteor would crash through it and put an end to this torture.  


“But you’ve never really dated,” Louis pointed out. “Other than that girl from Pride, which lasted like five seconds. I don’t even remember her name.”

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Harry said, taking a shaky breath.  


Louis stared up at her for a moment. “Fine. But promise to come out with us tonight. A few girls from the team are throwing a party.”

“I don’t know, Lou,” Harry said, leaning back against her pillows and carding her fingers through Louis’ hair. The last thing she wanted to do was go to a house party where she’d be hit on by guys she had no interest in talking to while simultaneously watching Louis hit on all the pretty girls.  


“Please,” Louis pushed her head into Harry’s hand and pouted. “Maybe I can be your wingman if you want.”

The universe was playing a really cruel joke on Harry. The cruelest of the cruel.  


“I’ll only come if you promise to  _ not _ be my wingman.”

Louis pursed her lips together in a smirk and rolled her eyes fondly. “Fine.”

With that, she removed herself from Harry’s lap and stood up. Harry watched her adjust her clothes, pulling her shirt back down from where it had ridden over her hip, and then she left the room with a small wave. She closed Harry’s door behind her and Harry stared at it for a moment before collapsing back against her pillows with a heavy sigh.  


\---

She didn’t know what to wear. Not that it mattered, really. Despite what Niall and Louis hoped, Harry was not looking to impress anybody tonight. But she lived in loose fitting jeans and worn out sweaters these days, and she knew she should probably put in at least  _ some _ effort. She pulled a pair of skinny jeans out from the depths of her closet, slipped into a low cut shirt, and sprayed some dry shampoo in her hair.  


Niall walked by the bathroom as Harry was patting blush onto her cheeks and paused.  


“Harry’s doing makeup!” she shouted, somehow managing to sound both excited and suspicious. Then she lowered her voice and smiled. “You look so pretty. The ladies won’t know what hit them.”  


“Thanks, Ni,” she said, examining her reflection. She wasn’t exactly trying to woo the ladies, but she appreciated the compliment. “You guys about ready to go?”

“Just waiting on Louis.”

“I’m ready, I’m ready,” came Louis’ exasperated voice from the hallway. She stopped in the hall next to Niall and looked Harry up and down. Harry tried not to preen under her gaze.  


“You look good, H,” Louis said with a tight smile as she slid her phone into her back pocket. She looked good too, even if she was only in one of her usual outfits of jeans and a flannel. She was also wearing the denim jacket that always made Harry want to drool and her hair looked especially soft.  


“Liam!” Louis called as they got their stuff together and aimed to head out. “C’mon, we’re leaving!”

Liam was sitting in the kitchen on her phone. “I’ve been ready for twenty minutes. Why are you yelling?”

Niall insisted they snap a few pictures and group selfies, which she added to her Instagram story, and then they all climbed into an Uber.  


The party was already in full swing when they arrived, cars parked along the entire length of the street, the house crowded and loud. Niall immediately left them to say hi to the fifty people she knew and Louis quickly did the same after someone called out to her.

“Be right back,” she told Harry, but Harry knew that meant she probably wouldn’t see her for another hour. She turned to Liam and sighed. This always happened when they went out as a group.

“C’mon,” Liam said, grabbing Harry’s hand. “Let’s go find the alcohol.”

They wandered through the house to the kitchen, where they ran into one of the girls from Louis’ team. She gave Harry a hug and told her to help herself to whatever.

“There’s stuff in the fridge too,” she said with a wink, before leaving the kitchen again. So Harry went to the fridge while Liam inspected the liquor bottles on the counter.  


The fridge was stocked with jello shots, cheap beer, and various flavors of Smirnoff Ice. She grabbed a couple of jello shots for Liam and herself, and turned around to see Liam making them some concoction of vodka and juice.  


“Cheers,” Harry said, handing over a jello shot before sticking a finger in her own and tilting her head back. She then took the drink from Liam and they left the kitchen and found themselves in the dining room, where a game of flip cup was taking place.

Harry watched for a moment before she got bored and decided to look around instead. She spotted Louis in the next room over, talking to a pretty girl in a tight dress.  


“Someone said there’s beer pong outside if you wanna play?” Liam asked but Harry just shook her head and continued to watch as Louis leaned in closer to the girl and put a steady hand to her waist. Harry immediately turned around weaved her way through the party goers outside to the back porch, where she sat down on the steps and gulped down her drink. A few moments passed before someone sat down next to her.  


She glanced over to see that it was Liam. “Hey,” Liam said, taking a sip of her own drink.

“Hey,” Harry said back, putting her empty cup down on the ground beside her.

“I’m guessing that’s a no to beer pong,” Liam said. “Are you alright?” Harry shrugged.

“Harry, do you have feelings for Louis?” Liam asked. Harry watched for a moment as Liam traced her fingertip around the rim of her cup before her words sunk in.

“Oh, god,” Harry crossed her arms over her knees and rested her forehead on them, her hair falling down to shield her face from view. She thought about lying, but instead she nodded. Liam placed a soothing hand to her back and began to rub in steady circles. Harry thought she might start crying.

“I like her  _ so _ much, Liam,” Harry whined, relieved to finally be able to talk to someone about it.

“Harry?”  


Harry froze. So did Liam. Because that was Louis’ voice. Fuck.  


“Shit,” Harry heard Liam whisper and she groaned.  


“Liam, can I talk to Harry?” Louis asked, and now Harry thought she might throw up. And start crying. Both. At the same time.  _ What had she heard? _

Harry wasn’t ready for this conversation. She wasn’t ready for Louis to try letting her down easy and break her heart.

She didn’t move, kept her head buried in her arms, but she felt Liam leave her side. Seconds later, her body was replaced with Louis’. Harry could tell because she could see Louis’ worn out vans out of the corner of her eye. She thought Louis might put her hand to her back and start rubbing too, but she didn’t.  


“Harry, are you okay?” she asked instead, voice soft and a little bit timid.

“No,” Harry said. She really thought she might throw up at any moment. Her blood rushed in her ears and her heart thudded against her ribcage.  


“Oh,” Louis said, a pause. “Why not?”

Harry swallowed. “I’m embarrassed.”

“What for?”

“Because you just heard me say I have feelings for you.”

“And why is that embarrassing?”

“Louis,” Harry groaned. Her face was so hot she half expected her head to explode.  


“Harry,” Louis said, voice firm and steady. “I like you, too.”

Harry finally tilted her head. She peered up at Louis through her hair.  


“What?”

Louis giggled and reached over to push Harry’s hair out of her face. She tucked it behind her ear and let her fingers linger on the skin of Harry’s neck. “I’ve liked you for months”

“What?” Harry croaked again. “No you haven’t.” That was literally impossible. She was half convinced someone put something in her drink and she was hallucinating, even though she barely felt tipsy. 

“Um,” Louis snorted. “Yes, I have.”

Harry scoffed. “Just this morning you were encouraging me to hook up with someone else.”

“No,” Louis shook her head and played with one of Harry’s curls. “Just this morning I offered to help you out with sex stuff. Didn’t think I was being subtle.”

Harry started to protest, but then she processed what Louis was saying. Had Louis been offering to help Harry, like…  _ practice? _ Before she could respond, Louis continued talking.  


“You’re the one who shut me down and said you didn’t want to talk about it,” Louis shrugged. “You always shut down the conversation when I try to talk to you about sex or dating.”

“But you offered to be my wingman,” Harry argued. She was aware she was probably being annoying at this point, but she couldn’t believe she was having this conversation. Louis Tomlinson just said she  _ liked _ Harry. She’d liked her for  _ months _ .  


“Because I didn’t know you liked me,” Louis explained. “I didn’t think I stood a chance.”

That was the stupidest thing Harry had ever heard. Louis was so far out of her league it wasn’t even funny, and she told her as much.

“Harry, what the fuck?” Louis shook her head and huffed out a laugh. “Have you met yourself? You’re cool and funny and talented and one of the hottest, most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen. I don’t think anyone is out of your league. Everyone loves you.”

Harry stared at Louis for a moment before tilting her head to ponder the sky, too bewildered to come up with any kind of appropriate response to that.  


“C’mon,” Louis reached for Harry’s hand. “Let’s go home. I’ll text Liam and Niall to tell them we’re leaving and call an uber.”

She allowed Louis to pull her to her feet and stared at their hands when instead of letting go like she normally would, Louis laced their fingers together. She was thankful Louis was taking the lead with this while her brain still processed everything.  


By the time they made it back through the house and were waiting for the uber on the curb, her mind finally stopped racing.  


“Can’t believe you offered to be my wingman,” Harry laughed. “You’re a better person than I am. I’ve wanted to sabotage every single date you’ve ever been on.”

“I didn’t say I would’ve been happy about it,” Louis replied as she checked the Uber app on her phone for the car’s information. “This is us.” She pointed to the approaching white sedan and greeted the woman driving when she pulled up to the curb.

The two of them slid into the backseat and Harry watched as Louis peered out the window. Luckily, their Uber driver wasn’t one of the annoying ones who made pointless conversation. She asked them if they liked the music and then kept to herself.

“I’ve got you beat by the way,” Harry told Louis as they neared their apartment complex.  


Louis turned to her. “What do you mean?”

“You said you’ve liked me for a few months?” Harry asked and Louis nodded. “I’ve liked you since freshman year.”

Louis’ jaw actually dropped in surprise. “What? Since  _ when _ freshman year?”

Their conversation got interrupted when the driver asked for directions to their building and dropped them off. Now that Harry wasn’t freaking out, she realized how chilly it was outside, and shivered as they exited the car.   


“I’ve liked you since I came out to you,” she said as she followed Louis up the stairs to their floor. “A little bit before then, even.”

“Oh, my god, baby,” Louis actually briefly stopped walking to look back at Harry with another shocked look. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Baby. Louis called Harry  _ babes _ and  _ babe _ all the time. But baby was new. Harry liked being called baby.  


“Dunno,” Harry admitted, taking her keys out of her purse to unlock their door. “I was nervous.”

They stepped inside and Harry locked the door behind them. “And then when I actually started to consider it, you started dating Danielle. You seemed happy for a bit and I didn’t want to ruin anything. After that I just kind of gave up on the idea of ever telling you, even after you guys broke up.”

Louis just looked at her in amazement and they awkwardly stood just inside the apartment until Harry started to move. She didn’t know if she’d just made a fool or herself, and she didn’t know what else to do or say, so she kicked off her shoes and headed to her room, hoping Louis would follow. She doubted anything more would happen tonight. They’d both had a bit to drink and Harry was too nervous to mess anything up.  


Louis did follow her into the bedroom and she stood in the doorway when Harry went into her closet to change into pajamas. She kept the door open, but figured she should try for some sense of privacy. She’d never worried about changing clothes in front of Louis before, but things felt a bit different now.  


“I’m sorry I didn’t realize sooner,” Louis said as Harry shed her jeans. She usually slept in an oversized t-shirt and underwear, but for Louis’ sake, she pulled on a pair of leggings.  


“Realize what?” Harry asked, reaching behind herself to unclasp her bra.  


“That you liked me,” Louis explained. Harry slid her sleep shirt over her head and walked back into the room. Louis was sitting on the bed with her focus on the door.  


“It’s okay,” Harry sat down next to her. “I should’ve said something.”

“Can I sleep in here tonight?” Louis asked. “Not to like, do anything. Just… to be close to you.”

Harry was certain her heart would flutter right out of her chest if it could. She nodded and Louis smiled.  


“Be right back,” she said. Harry moved to the bathroom to wipe off her makeup and brushed her teeth while Louis got ready for bed herself. She left the bathroom when Louis started to wash her own face and got into bed, turning all the lights off except for the lamp on her bedside table.  


She smiled when Louis came into the room, wearing a tank top and boxer shorts. Harry had seen her in the same outfit about a thousand times and they’d slept in the same bed more times than Harry could count, but everything about this time was a different kind of torture.  


Louis got into bed and Harry turned off the lamp. She found herself holding her breath, body filled with tension and heart in her throat. She stared up at the ceiling, not really seeing anything in the darkness.  


“Louis?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you kiss me?”

“No.”

Harry frowned and shifted so she was facing Louis. “No?”  


Louis mirrored Harry so they were facing each other. “If I do, I won’t want to stop.”

Harry grinned. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark enough that she could just make out Louis rolling her eyes fondly.

“Go to sleep, loser,” Louis said and Harry closed her eyes, smile still on her face.

\---

She woke up some time in the early morning, the bed shifting when Louis quietly stepped out of it. Harry blinked and rubbed at her eyes as she watched Louis tiptoe to the door and slip through it, and she tensed and frowned when she wondered why she’d be leaving. Then she heard the bathroom door creak down the hall and her body sagged in relief. Louis was just going to the bathroom. At least, Harry hoped that was all she was doing. She tensed again when she realized that Louis might very well return to her own room instead of Harry’s when she was done.  


She held her breath until she heard the toilet flush and then a few moments later, Louis was entering the room, and Harry was able to breathe again. Louis closed the door and slid back into the bed slowly. She turned her body towards Harry and started a bit when she saw Harry was awake.  


“Hi,” she rasped, shifting until she got comfortable and pillowed her face on her hands. She was so pretty, her eyes still puffy with sleep and her hair a mess. “Sorry I woke you up.”

“It’s okay,” Harry whispered. “You’re really pretty.”

Louis pursed her lips into a shy smile and ducked her head. “ _ You’re _ really pretty,” she countered.

“No  _ you _ hang up first,” Harry joked and Louis closed her eyes and shook her head in amusement.  


When she opened her eyes again, they simply stared at each other. Louis blinked and Harry studied the way her eyelashes fluttered against her cheek, admired the brilliant blue of her eyes, noted how her pupils were just slightly rounder than normal. She still had a light sheet crease on her cheek and she looked so soft and cozy Harry wanted nothing more than to hook her chin over Louis’ shoulder and cuddle in.

“I’d like to kiss you now,” Louis said, voice barely more than a murmur. Except maybe that. Harry definitely wanted that more.

All of the air immediately escaped from her lungs and she made a movement with her head that was supposed to be a nod but actually probably looked like she was having a small seizure. Louis shuffled over, closing the small amount of space between them and the next thing Harry knew, they were kissing. What started out soft and slow and sweet, turned hard and hurried when Harry pushed Louis so she was laying on her back and straddled her stomach. Harry wanted to drown herself in Louis arms and mouth. She couldn’t get close enough.

“Fuck,” Louis gasped when Harry pulled away to nuzzle and kiss at her neck. “Don’t have to move so fast, baby. We’ve got all day.”  


Just the thought of messing around with Louis all day had Harry on edge. She whined and shook her head, nose running along Louis’ pulse point. She liked that she could feel how fast it was beating. “Can’t stand it.”

Louis slid a hand in Harry’s hair, grabbed a fistful and gently pulled her off. Harry let herself be moved easily. She was so turned on she couldn’t think.  


“Can’t stand what?” Louis asked her, meeting Harry’s gaze in question.

“Want you so much I can’t stand it,” Harry elaborated, unconsciously rocking her hips where they straddled Louis’ belly.

Louis released her grip on Harry’s hair and ran her hands down her shoulders and then held onto her hips, tucking her fingers underneath Harry’s shirt to feel her skin. Harry nearly shivered at the touch.

“What do you want?” Louis asked, rubbing Harry’s belly with her thumbs.  


“Don’t know,” Harry sat up straight and bit her lip. “Everything. I- I’ve never done any of this before.”

“I know,” Louis said, a hint of a smirk on her lips that lit a fire in Harry’s stomach. “But have you thought about it before? What you’d do if you had me in bed like this?”

She definitely had. And she’d felt guilty about it too, like she was betraying her best friend’s trust and sexualizing her without permission. But just the thought of making Louis feel good could send her over the edge and she thought about it a lot.

“Yeah,” Harry admitted. “Thought about what you’d do to me, too.”

“Oh yeah?” Louis gently pushed Harry back and tilted their bodies so their heads were at the foot of the bed and Louis was on top, hovering over Harry. “What’d I do?”

Harry bit her lip in hesitation and as if she could sense her nerves about being so vulnerable, Louis ducked down and kissed her lips.  


“Hmm?” she hummed in question when she pulled back again, urging Harry to answer.

“Basically just like, what you’re doing,” Harry shrugged and looked away from Louis, tilting her head to the side. “Also, like, holding me down and I don’t know. Telling me what to do? It’s weird.”

“Why is that weird?” Louis asked, taking the opportunity to kiss Harry’s neck. Harry gave a full body shudder when she felt Louis’ tongue against her skin.

“I don’t know,” Harry couldn’t think properly with Louis’ attention so focused on her, with her body so soft and warm on top of hers like she’d always imagined.

“Is it weird if I think I’d like telling you what to do?”  


“Fuck,” Harry whined, turning her head to meet Louis’ lips with her own.  


“Not today, though,” Louis said. “Another time.” And then she fisted her hands in Harry’s hair and kissed her deeply, licking into her mouth and moaning. She tasted so good. Harry didn’t think she’d ever been more turned on in her life. She rocked her hips up in desperation and Louis pulled back with a gasp.

Harry pushed Louis’ shirt over her head and Louis did the same to her. Harry gulped. Louis’ tits were perfect, just like the rest of her. Harry’s boobs were kind of lopsided and mostly arreola and sometimes a few hairs grew around her nipples that she had to pluck. She crossed her arms over her chest and Louis frowned.

“Why are you hiding, baby?” She reached to wrap her hands around Harry’s wrists and hesitantly pulled her arms away. “You’re fucking perfect.”

Harry wanted to disagree, but couldn’t with the way Louis was looking at her, gaze so intense Harry thought she might drown in it. She wanted to taste her, had thought about getting her mouth on her so many times she couldn’t even count that high.  


“Can I?” she asked, an incomplete thought that didn’t even make sense, but she was too overwhelmed with having Louis topless on top of her.  


Louis pursed her lips together in amusement. “The answer is probably yes, but can you what?”

“Sorry,” Harry shook her head and laughed at herself too. “Can I taste you? Think about it all the time.”

“Shit,” Louis nodded. “Yeah, of course. Can’t wait to taste you too.”

She sat up and shimmied out of her boxers and tossed them to the side and Harry suddenly forgot how to do anything. She could barely even breathe, because Louis Tomlinson was naked in her bed. Louis dropped back against the pillows again and gestured for Harry, so she climbed into her lap again and kissed her, stomach in knots as she kissed down her chest and stomach. Louis was so soft and pliant beneath her. Harry wanted to take her time sucking marks into every inch of her body, just to see how she reacted to being kissed in different places, but she continued moving down until she got to her hip bones. Then she got so nervous she had to say something.

“What if I’m like, bad at this?” Harry asked, voicing her concerns for the first time, which she probably should have done  _ before _ she was almost face level with Louis’ clit, but whatever.  


Louis propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at her. She shook her head. “Not possible.”

“Lou, I’m serious,” Harry pouted. She’d heard so many horror stories from girls whose boyfriends went down on them and they said it didn’t feel like anything. And everyone talked about how sex with girls was so much better, but what if Harry was bad at it? She didn’t know what the fuck she was doing.

“Harry, I’ve worked myself up about this so much I’m pretty sure all you’ll have to do is touch my clit and I’ll come.”

She reached down and separated her lips with her fingers, rubbed a finger over her clit, and Harry finally let herself look. At her neatly trimmed pubic hair, and her pink clit. Louis was already so fucking wet and the knowledge that she was wet for Harry was extremely overwhelming.

“Oh, my God,” she choked out, mouth watering as she inched closer. “So fucking hot.”

Louis’ hips twitched impatiently and she let out a breathy sigh, and that finally gave Harry the courage to get a move on. She placed a kiss to her mons and inhaled, groaning when Louis removed her fingers so Harry could replace them with her mouth. She licked tentatively, running her tongue up and down before focusing in on her clit. She pressed her tongue against it experimentally and sucked and Louis groaned.  


“Just like that, Harry,” she praised. “Told you, you’d be good at this.”

She collapsed back against the pillows and reached down to run her fingers through Harry’s hair, holding on so she could wordlessly direct her on where to go. Feeling bolder now, Harry started to explore, licking down and inside before returning to Louis’ clit. She knew she needed to back up a bit and catch her breath, but she couldn’t get enough of Louis’ taste and the way her breath stuttered and her moans got high and whiny when Harry did something she really liked.

Eventually, she did pull off so she could catch her breath, figuring it was probably a good idea not to die. Although dying between Louis’ thighs was exactly how she wanted to go.  


“Doing so good,” Louis told her and suddenly, Harry needed to feel inside of her as well. She pushed a finger against her, circling her entrance and asking for permission to slip inside. She glanced up at Louis, who nodded, and then pushed in, crooking her fingers experimentally. Then she returned back to suck at Louis’ clit with her mouth and Louis’ legs started twitching.  


“I’m gonna come,” Louis told her. “Don’t stop that, I’m gonna come.”

Harry obeyed and groaned when Louis started riding her face, chasing her own orgasm. She felt it when it happened, the way Louis contracted and pulsed around her fingers. She stopped moving her fingers but continued sucking and licking on her clit until Louis shifted and murmured something about being too sensitive.  


Harry pulled back and just looked at her--her flushed cheeks and the way her stomach and chest moved as she caught her breath.

“Holy fuck,” she said, wiping her fingers on her bedsheets. “I just made Louis Tomlinson come.”

“Mhmm,” Louis hummed and stretched languidly. Harry could look at her body forever and never get bored. “Don’t know what the hell you were so worried about.”

Then she sat up suddenly. “My turn.”

Harry’s breath left her again and her stomach dropped. Louis leaned up to kiss her and guided her back against the sheets.  


“Can taste myself all over you,” she whispered against Harry’s lips, and  _ fuck _ , that was hot. She wondered what she’d taste like in Louis’ mouth. Louis reached for Harry’s pajama bottoms and pushed them down. Harry helped her by kicking them off and Louis pulled back to look at her.  


“Shit, you’re soaked through, baby,” she said, cupping Harry through her damp underwear.  


“Eating you out was the hottest thing I’ve ever done,” Harry admitted. “Pretty sure I was close to coming just from your taste.”

“Jesus Christ,” Louis slid a hand inside her panties and ran her fingers through Harry’s pubic hair. “You’re so hot.”

Harry didn’t shave or trim unless she planned on going swimming or something, and after seeing Louis all clean and neatly trimmed, she’d been slightly worried about what Louis would think of her bush. But Louis didn’t seem to have any qualms about it as she tugged at the hair slightly before pulling Harry’s panties off.  


She kissed Harry again and lay on top of her as she slid her fingers into Harry’s wetness, rubbing gently at her clit, and then more firmly to gage Harry’s reactions. It was obvious she was practiced at this, at learning a girl’s body and finding out exactly what made her tick. She was so sure and confident and it was so hot Harry could scream.   


Harry shuddered and her legs twitched as Louis worked her fingers over her clit and then pressed inside. She moaned when Louis crooked her fingers just right and cried out when she bent over to take one of Harry’s nipples into her mouth and sucked.

“So responsive,” Louis muttered when her teeth grazed her nipple and Harry bucked up into her hand. She was already so close and half frustrated with herself because she wanted this to last. But Louis was far, far too good at this.

“Oh, fuck,” she grunted when Louis started moving her fingers faster. “I’m not gonna last.”

“It’s okay,” Louis kissed her collarbone. “Can come again later if you want.”

She rubbed her thumb firmly over Harry’s clit and sent her over the edge. Harry clamped down on Louis’ hand with her thighs as she rode out her orgasm, moaning and breathing heavily.

“Shit, you’re so lovely,” Louis said as she worked her through her orgasm, only pulling her hand away when Harry’s body relaxed back against the bed. Harry watched with tired eyes as Louis brought her fingers to her mouth and sucked Harry’ off of them.

“Oh, my God,” she groaned, throwing an arm over her eyes. It was all too much.

“Taste so good,” Louis told her, shifting their bodies so she was laying down next to Harry with one leg thrown over her body. “Can’t wait for you to come in my mouth.”

“You have got to stop talking,” Harry told her. “Or I’m gonna pass out.”  


Louis laughed and pulled her arm away from her face, kissed her forehead. “So… not bad for your first time?”  


Harry shook her head, suddenly feeling very dreamy and sleepy. “Perfect.”

She turned around so her back was to Louis and grabbed Louis’ arm to pull around her waist. Louis cuddled in, folding herself to fit against Harry and pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck.

They dozed off for a bit and then messed around again when they woke up, not leaving Harry’s room until around noon, when they got too hungry and dehydrated. When they walked into the living room, Liam and Niall both started clapping from the couch. Niall actually cheered. Harry blushed and hid her face in Louis’ neck.

“That was quite the soundtrack we got this morning, ladies,” Niall said. “I want to complain but mostly I’m just really fucking stoked you two finally got your shit together.”

“Ignore her,” Louis said, taking Harry’s hand and dragging her into the kitchen where Harry pushed herself up to sit on one of the counters while Louis poured them both bowls of cereal. Harry usually opted for granola and almond milk but she let Louis prepare one of her concoctions of mixed sugary cereals and accepted it easily. She liked having Louis dote on her.

Niall and Liam continued to pester them, but Harry and Louis ignored them as they began to eat.

“We’ll go back into hiding if you two don’t shut the fuck up,” Louis shouted as she handed Harry a glass of water.  


“Well, excuse us for being happy for you,” Liam called.  


“Yeah,” Niall agreed. “We had to listen to Harry moaning all morning and I’m sure that’s only going to continue, so we’ll tease you as much as we want, thank you very much!”

Louis rolled her eyes at Harry, but Harry shrugged. “They have a point.”

“Well, I’m not going to stop fucking my girlfriend any time soon,” she called back to Liam and Niall. “So go invest in some noise cancelling headphones if it bothers you that much!”

Harry’s jaw dropped and her breath caught in her throat.  


“Girlfriend?” she asked, voice breathless and probably embarrassing. Her heart beat sky rocketed.  


Louis looked at her, eyes wide and honest. “Well, yeah? I mean, I thought…”

Harry shrugged and stirred a spoon in her cereal. “Well, you didn’t ask, so.”

Louis snorted at her teasing and moved into her space, gave her a quick kiss. She tasted sweet from the cereal and Harry couldn’t help licking her own lips when they separated.  


“Will you be my girlfriend, Harry?” Louis asked and Harry nodded.

“Yeah, of course,” she said, smiling so big her cheeks hurt. Louis kissed her again and this time, didn’t pull back until their cereal was soggy and Harry couldn’t breathe.

“They’re gonna be fucking miserable to be around,” Niall muttered to Liam in the living room.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! as always, comments and kudos are loved and appreciated.
> 
> come say hi to me on tumblr: @littlelouishiccups


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